Joe Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 125: To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the findings of the Financial Services Consultative Consumer Panel that €34 billion of savings of Irish people is kept in accounts with little or no interest payments and their recommendation that the Financial Regulator conduct an extensive consumer awareness campaign to advise savers to move money away from little and no interest accounts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3879/07]

Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the report referred to and I understand that the findings of the report have been taken into account in a number of actions taken by the Financial Regulator.

The Financial Regulator published a Consumer Protection Code in July 2006 which is due to be fully implemented in the coming months.

Under the main principles of the Code regulated financial services firms are obliged to act in the customer's best interests. More specifically, the Code contains provisions that require banks to issue annual statements of transactions on all accounts with a balance in excess of €20, unless otherwise agreed with the consumer in writing. This statement must include, inter alia, details of the interest rates applied to the account during the period covered by the statement. In addition, a credit institution must make available to existing deposit holding consumers details of the different interest rates that are being applied to its other deposit accounts.

I understand that the Financial Regulator has advised the Financial Services Consultative Consumer Panel that it will be highlighting the importance of looking at different deposit and savings options available from various institutions to tie in with the next phase of its SSIA campaign. The Financial Regulator will also be advising consumers to examine terms and conditions carefully, particularly those concerning the effect of withdrawals, bonus interest and differences between accounts designed for regular savings versus lump sums. This next phase of the campaign will commence in early February.

The Financial Regulator includes information on deposit accounts in its consumer publications. The Regulator's guide, 'Savings and Investments made easy', contains detailed information on savings accounts, including deposit accounts with banks, credit union share accounts and An Post deposit accounts. The guide explains that the higher the interest rate, the more money you earn. It also points to on-line and phone-based accounts, which can often pay higher interest than other savings accounts.

The Financial Regulator also encourages new savers to shop around to find the deposit account that suits them best, both in terms of the interest rate, access to their money and the terms and conditions that apply to the headline interest rate. This is part of the Regulator's general "shop around" message which encourages people to actively seek the product that suits them best.

The objective of these two initiatives is to motivate the consumer to carefully consider the best option for them when placing their money on deposit.